Spring had broken in Berk. Bewilderbeast ice long gone, the two-month long chill that had lingered with it was gone too. The grass was green again in the glen, and the lake liquid and teeming with fish—at least until Toothless caught them all.
Spring meant the dragons would be shedding their scales in exchange for new ones, and spring meant it was Hiccup's time to finish the weapons he was to give Astrid's brother in exchange for her hand. He had crafted a beautiful sword, and polished it to a glimmer. He'd pieced together and painted a beautiful shield with an abstract depiction of a blonde girl reaching up to the beautiful blue wings of a Nadder.
All of this combined meant it was now time to don the chief's cloak that had belonged to his father and belt his family's sword around his hips.
He had not entered the downstairs bedchamber in the three months since the battle, and now he struggled to just simply push the door inward.
Finally, he let himself inside and tried not to look at the gigantic bed at the center of the room. He beelined for the wardrobe and yanked it open, in a hurry to leave the heavy empty space. He hesitated a moment, looking up at the fur cloaks and oversized tunics folded in their spots and hung on hooks along the back wall of the wardrobe. In the very center hung the cloak of not-quite-white sheep's fur, with a broach of heavy gold.
He gulped at the sight of it.
It was only ever worn on special occasions, more specifically to ceremonies. He had seen his father in it multiple times, at weddings, and when the village welcomed their warriors home after months away.
His hand buried into the flaxen fur when he reached for it, and the cinnamony, hearty smell of his father still lingered on the inside softness where a brown silk lining was sewn.
He felt his lips press together tightly and blinked his burning eyes a few times before he tossed it over his shoulders. It was heavy and thick, hanging around him in all the wrong places, covering his front. He clasped the buckle over his heart, working slowly and finally relaxing his shoulders.
It felt weird. But he supposed it was his now, and maybe he could come to see it as an inheritance and not a weight.
He found the family's sword hung on his father's wall, and had to use his own belt that he'd made in the forge to secure it around himself. He took a heavy breath and touched the hilt, gripping it tight to maybe steady himself while he exited the room and made to gather the other weapons.
Astrid let herself inside, ready to go with him to her house. When she spotted him, he heard her gasp.
He turned to her, her fingers over her lips, a smile playing beneath them. "Hiccup…" She dropped her hand and the line of her mouth evened itself. "You look so handsome."
He dropped his weapons once more onto the empty dining table, and grabbed for her waist. "C'mere, you."
He gazed down at her, her pale eyes smiling.
"You look like a chief, Hiccup." She settled her hand against his chest, into the down that covered it. "A great chief."
He pulled a smile, crooked and bashful, not intending for her to kiss it away so quickly, but it was welcomed all the same.
He tucked the weapons beneath one arm, and offered her the other.
Outside their house, her brother was waiting. Astrid had already prepared—and failed to prepare, several times over—the customary meal that both families were to have together. Actually, she'd just failed. But had enlisted the help a village woman, but no one needed to know that. It would be small, she thought, but it would be theirs all the same.
She watched Hiccup sigh and draw his shoulders up in anxiousness before he released her arm. He hesitated again, laying the shield against the ground, and drawing the sword. He seemed to collect himself all at once, an air of confidence and finality taking over.
Hiccup kneeled on his good knee before her brother, Bear, who had gotten all of her mother's height and her father's broad shoulders, large for his age, but not uncommon in the village. Though Hiccup was small before him, his stature didn't diminish the integrity and honor he carried and now placed before the Hofferson's heir.
She heard him begin to speak.
"Before the gods, Frigga and Fulla, I ask a blessing from you to wed the only daughter of the Hofferson name. May you look kindly upon the gifts I have given, seeing them worthy and sufficient for such an honor. May favor and fruitfulness bless both families, future descendants, and the God Elli carry us together in unity."
She had to smile at the formality that was so un-Hiccup, and wondered who had taught him that speech. Probably Gobber.
He picked himself up quickly and took several steps backwards, uncertainty flooding his features again before Bear reach forward to clasp his hand, holding them between their bodies.
"Frigga and Fulla bless you," he answered, and Hiccup nodded with a shy smile.
-O-O-O-
Well that was over with, he thought. The nightmares, not so much. He asked Astrid to come with him tonight for company, and because he wanted to see if the group of dragons he'd seen with Valka and again by himself would return. He didn't even try to sleep, not wanting to admit to the fear that tugged in his chest at the thought of allowing himself to vulnerable to dreams.
She'd caught several hours before meeting him at his house at exactly midnight, without Stormfly.
"She wouldn't wake up when I went to the stables for her. Miss Priss needs her beauty sleep, apparently," she'd joked on their way to the cliffs. "Why do you want me to come again?"
"I want to show you something," he said evenly. Maybe they'd see the Nightmares and the Timberjack again and be able to get a better look at the rider.
"What, exactly?"
"You'll see." He plopped next to Toothless once they'd found their usual spot, where one had the perfect view of the sun breaking the horizon at dawn.
"I've seen plenty of sunrises, Hiccup," she said. "If you're trying to be romantic…"
"Its not the sunrise," he assured her, watching the sky diligently.
She was too smart for her own good. "Did you see something, Hiccup?" she said softly, close beside him.
He looked over to her. "I saw a flock of Monstrous Nightmares, all on fire. And a Timberjack, with a rider. I didn't see his…her…face, I don't know anything, but I just get this weird feeling like it can't be good. Not this close after the Bewilderbeast."
She nodded. "So what's the plan if it is a threat?"
"Don't know. We'll have to see how serious the threat is. Berk has allies, but Dad couldn't get all of them to completely agree with our new way of life. Dragons as friends. Some do, but some still think its crazy. So if this is from one of those lands, that's what I'm worried about. If its just another crazy madman, well, that's nothing we haven't seen before."
She braced her back against him. They waited in silence several seconds, until Hiccup's overactive mind had a new thought.
"I wonder how the council would react to having a female member for the first time in three-hundred years."
"Who said anything about that?" she countered.
"Well, you'd be my second in command."
"A chief's wife isn't the second in command."
"Traditionally, no."
"Wow, a marriage proposal and a business proposal in the same day."
He hesitated. "Would you want that?"
She reached around for his hand, planting hers over his on the ground.
"I could get used to it."
He chuckled out loud at her line. He'd said that to her just after waking up from having his leg removed and being unconscious for two weeks.
"Just make sure I'll never have to step up."
He laughed again. "Sometimes I wonder why you picked me."
"Picked you? I picked Toothless, not you," she said and Hiccup made an offended noise. Toothless purred happily.
"I think about what drew me to you. And it certainly wasn't your looks."
"Hey!"
Toothless let out several low rumbles, and Hiccup knew he was laughing. He thumped the dragon's flank gently with the back of his hand.
"Until recently. It was probably because you showed me something I'd never seen before. Something beautiful and new. Another part of me I didn't know I needed; I give you the credit for training Stormfly. All of us should give you credit. Without you, things would've never changed."
Hiccup smiled up at the indigo colored sky. "Well, I guess all of that makes up for the dig about my handsome, muscly, Viking-ness."
Astrid laughed, but it was drowned out by a screech above them.
Hiccup bolted upright and Toothless crouched low.
"It's the Timberjack!" Hiccup shouted, the scream coming like the sound of a scythe. The legless dragon soared above them, alone save for its rider, not illuminated by moonlight or Nightmare firelight. The roar of trees being sliced and falling in a wave of green threw them into panic for a moment, and Hiccup managed to grab Astrid's arms, steering her out of the way. "Fly Toothless back home and wake the others. Don't send anyone until I make it back to the village to give orders."
"I'm not leaving you here defenseless!" she refuted.
He backed her up toward his dragon. "Go! I have Inferno. I'll be fine."
Trees fell dangerously close. Astrid threw a glare at him before mounting Toothless and clicking his tail into gear like Hiccup had shown her. He swooped into the air at breakneck speed and Hiccup turned to run deftly over the rocks to reach the trees. He fought to climb and stumble over branches and trunks in his path, swept down by the dragon's razor-like wings. He had not yet lit Inferno, until he reached a familiar clearing and blazed the sword to life, hoping to find a trail he knew well and follow it towards the creature.
But there, in the dim light, he saw the shadow of the dragon, its dangerous wings stretched upwards.
He brought the sword over his head, making wide circles to show the dragon he meant no harm, but he noticed the narrow ferocity in its yellow eyes, and assumed that any of his movements wouldn't help his case now.
The glow of the sword landed across the silhouette of a woman, her dark hair in her face, standing close to her dragon, both of them daring him to make any sudden moves.
He ducked his head, still keeping eye contact, bending his knees a bit. "Hey," he started, and felt a strange swirl at the pit of his stomach. "Are you ok? Are you hurt?" He didn't know what else to ask.
Neither girl nor dragon moved. Just stared at him with fixed eyes.
"I've seen you flying around our island the past couple of months." He gestured behind him with Inferno, sending a trail of sparks. "With your Monstrous Nightmares. Are those yours?"
The dragon hissed, and he could've sworn he heard the girl do the same.
"Hey, its alright. I'm not going to hurt you." He reached his free hand out, hoping to calm them. "What's your name?"
He waited. No answer. "I'm Hiccup. I'm the chief to the village nearby. Are you sure you're alright? I can take you to a healer, or some—" He took a few steps forward, holding Inferno away, over his shoulder, but he didn't have time to finish before the woman leapt forward, and all at once she knocked him backwards, her fingers grabbed for his throat and his iron leg lost its footing when he tried to jump back and blackness took over, darker than the night above them.
-O-O-O-
AN: I have heard that the TV show had some instances where other tribes or leaders would show up, but I've never seen the TV show. So I can't really account for them, so if this doesn't go along with canon, I guess I'll say I'm taking liberties. This one was shorter, but I like it. I hope you do too.
